1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the construction of retaining walls, and more particularly to a locking mechanism for locking a spiralnail used in constructing a retaining wall.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Hilfiker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,874,975, teaches a soil reinforced retaining wall for an earthen embankment which is formed by driving nails into the embankment at spaced intervals. The nails have helical threads extending there-around of such proportion and pitch as to screw into the formation as the nails are driven into place with a vibratory hammer, without prior boring of the embankment to accommodate the nails, or the necessity of cementing the nails into place. The wall is constructed from the top down and face panels are progressively assembled over the embankment and secured in place by the nails. This patent is hereby incorporated by reference in full.
The prior art teaches an apparatus and method for constructing soil reinforced earthen retaining walls, such as is described above. However, the prior art does not teach a cam locking assembly for locking the spiralnails in place during the construction of retaining walls. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.